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It’s a rare sight to see the stars align for a film, but when the gears mesh they sing like angels, and what better movie to represent this allegory then The Lego Movie.

Released on Feb. 7, The LegoMovie is a computer-animated adventure comedy film based on the Lego construction toys and the different licensed products made from them. From the trailers and initial speculation The LegoMovie seems like a hodgepodge of references and nostalgia, with a little star power thrown in for extra measure.

The Lego Movie actually houses a cleverly written and engaging world built with enough fervor and heart to rival the Pixar classics. The film tells a familiar yet unique story about an average construction worker, Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt), who goes about every day following the instructions given to him and never going outside the lines. Eight and a half years before this, an evil dictator by the name of Lord Business (Will Ferrel) steals a weapon called the “Kragle” and wants to use its power to make the Lego world perfect by his personal instructions. Emmet becomes wrapped in a prophecy foretold by a wise man named Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), who sees a chosen one called, “The Special,” as a the one who will use an artifact called the Piece of Resistance to destroy the Kragle and defeat Lord Business.

Seems simple enough but looks can be very deceiving. First off the first surprise of the film would be its cast and its refreshing lack of celebrities. Sure there’s Liam Neeson and Ferrel but the main cast consists of TV actors such as Pratt and Will Arnett as Batman. The best part is that The Lego Movie uses these actors to their full comedic potential and several scenes will have you chuckling throughout the movie.

Which goes by quick with a frenetic pace that seems to fit the movie perfectly as the beautiful faux stop-motion animation direction is incredibly fun to watch. But nothing is perfect and the film does lead to a few flaws such as the fact that since it has such a fast paced feel, the more slow moments seem out of place. The sound design seems a bit muffled and it’s not clear whether this was intentional or not.

Regardless of personal taste or the want for something that “seems” original The Lego Movie is a must watch for anyone looking for a fresh idea and film that stays 100% true to its name.

Thor: The Dark World, released on Nov. 8, is the latest in the generous offering peddled by Marvel Studios and its revolutionary ideas on building an Avengers trilogy.

Thor: The Dark World is set two years after the events of the first Thor film and one year after the events of The Avengers and sees Thor(Chris Hemsworth) finishing up building peace amongst the nine realms and ready to take the throne of Asgard. Unfortunately his mind is towards Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as she is imbued with an ancient sealed power called the Aether. The Aether is being sought out by an old enemy of Asgard, the Dark Elf Malakith (Christopher Eccleston) who has sworn vengeance upon Asgard for a war that killed his race. Thor must enlist the help of his enigmatic brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and fight to defeat Malekith and protect the realms he worked to make peaceful.

MINITORIAL-Divided They Fall?: The biggest question for people who enjoy the Avengers team dynamic is whether or not it works with only one Avenger. It’s gotten to the point where the individual hero movies cannot ignore their past exploits. The attention to previous details helps the films tremendously and keeps the entirety of the franchise alive and not repetitive. New problems, new villains and new macguffins that will be collected and used for different plots in the future.

It’s at this point in the Marvel movie universe that no wrong can be done. Anything resembling a mishandling of an individual property or characters is immediately met with a good screenplay, great acting and love for the art of film that’s not found in many places today.

That’s Thor: The Dark World in a nutshell. Not perfect or fantastic, but just the right amount of dynamic between drama, action and comedy.

When the Avengers are together it’s a typical superhero flick with a team dynamic but when you pull them apart and you get some interesting possibilities. Namely that Thor and everything having to do with him and his world is a fantasy and the movie makers know this all too well.

Giving the Director’s chair to Alan Taylor, who handled various episodes of Game of Thrones, and can make the goofiest set pieces, wardrobes and colorful characters be taken seriously as they fight power ranger villains in plastic masks.

The biggest problem with the first film was the fact that Thor wasn’t actually Thor throughout the film and remained a human as he regained his power but that’s apparently resolved in The Dark World. Hemsworth played the fish out of water cocksure Thor we saw in the first film but now the actor gets to remain in the characters’ fantastical element and fight everything hammer, cape and honor in hand.

Special mention goes to Idris Elba as Heimdall, as he can go from dead serious to lighthearted in a second. The highlight of the movie is definitely the banter shared by Hemsworth and Hiddleston as Thor and Loki respectively.

The biggest problem with this film is the villain and the somewhat plain performance given by Eccleston. Those hoping Eccleston would bring his “Doctor Who” charm to the role as an engaging villain will be disappointed yet he still serves the purpose of a legitimate threat and fits the movies wiry feel.

Thor: The Dark World is a great movie and deserves to stand among the ranks of the Marvel pedigree but if you’re a hardcore Thor fan it might seem like a wasted opportunity.

After the satisfying conclusion that was presented in the sequel it seems these four animals can’t take enough abuse from the outside world and decide to go back to the zoo which they were ejected out of in the first movie anyways. I’ve since stopped caring so much for the plot of this franchise and wish these set of characters could have been left alone and make room for other more interesting and fun characters such as the penguins and King Julien who still have their own successful spin off show. This movie decides to retcon any rational thought or plot that had been established in the previous movies and instead opts for way too convenient set pieces which seem to be the only thing keeping these movies afloat. With that being said this movie franchise gone from stylistically realistic to full blown surrealistic as a couple of scenes which feature the circus performance gives 3D a reason for existing in all its mediocrity. While your kids will be satisfied with the pretty colors the Adults who are forced to see it will be left to suffer through awkward, groan heavy jokes that either fly over their heads or are to corny to even chuckle at. Although I give this movie a thumbs down I still give a 3D matinee recommendation, just be sure to bring a kid so no one looks at you funny.

A surprising twist on the classic fairytale which features a cast of actors that seem made for the roles they are put in.Kristen Stewart does an outstanding job making a compelling character out of the paint by numbers damsel and with this has surely shed some of the weight of the terrible Twilight films but even though, her character still seems unsure of what she is supposed to do throughout the film. Chris Hemsworth feels right at home playing the drunken warrior that is the huntsman and never once did I feel as if he was falling back on his Avengers success in order to get through the movie and does his acting well if not only to be here because he’s one of the Avengers. Special mention must go to Charlize Theron for the part of the evil queen as she steals the show even more so than most female villians and the emotional girth of her character allows for sympathy as well as hatred. The much needed comedy in the film is provided by the Eight(?) Dwarves who are brought to life with the most beautiful looking blend of CGI and green screening in order to seamlessly blend these regular sized actors into realistic little people. The movies flaws glare through the plot points and the actual connection between the three main characters and what ultimately boils down to a halfhearted conclusion to an otherwise great film. I give the film a thumbs up and a recommendation if only to see a refreshing take on an ancient tale.